Friday, November 11, 2005

a really wonderful interview

from the brooklyn rail James Siena In Conversation with Chris Martin

I especially liked this part:

Rail : You talk like you are some impersonal painting mechanic, and yet I would never confuse a Siena with a painting by anyone else. Your paintings are deeply personal.

Siena : They’re very, very personal. But what is personal? Personal to me in this context refers to the expression of a distinct individual. I find people most interesting when they’re really different people and they’ve found a way to distinguish themselves from others by a particular approach to life. That’s why artists are so interesting. They’re constantly inventing new ways of transforming the world into a work, which then is this talisman of thought. Does that make any sense at all?

Rail : Sounds great! ( Laughs )

Siena : I don’t know what the fuck it means! ( Laughs )